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Blog Entry 60 of 95 Charmaine in the city

I've called the Denver area home for more than two
decades now. But this urban/mountain city is still full of surprises. I'll be posting my adventures here, as I explore local eateries, shops and sharing birthday and vacation photos. And once in a while, I'll throw in a music, movie or food review. I hope to keep this blog interactive, so don't be shy to suggest places I should visit. And check it out: I'm on Brendan's List. Rock on!

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Contributed by: Charmaine Robledo/YourHub.com on 7/13/2007

It was both a vacation and a family reunion during my trip to Chicago last week June 30 to July 3. The main reason for my trip was to see the son of my cousin, Elena Agabin, get baptized. Along with T.J.'s ( Tristan Jacob) baptism, I became his godmother, or in Tagalog, his ninang. I was truly excited at the prospect of being T.J.'s godmother, since he is my first and it will give me the opportunity to stay in touch with my relatives.

As I mentioned before, it was certainly a family reunion for me, as I haven't seen my cousin Elena (daughter of my mom's younger brother) since 1991 when I was 9 years old. My other cousin, Dr. Elaine Soriano (daughter of my mom's older sister), who is T.J.'s other godmother, I hadn't seen since 1998 when I was 16. Same goes for my Uncle Romy and Auntie Perla; the last time I saw them was in 1997 when my mom and I traveled to the Philippines.

Now in my 20s, it was good to see family again. And as someone who has mostly grown up American, I like getting back to my Filipino roots. While I was at my cousin's house, I even developed a slight Filipino accent. I was a little disheartened, however, whenever my family talked because I have forgotten most of my Tagalog and can only understand a few words and phrases.

Nonetheless, I had a wonderful time catching up with my cousins. Elena and her husband, Terence, also have a 4-year-old daughter, Caitlin Annette, who was a good sport during the weekend since her little brother was getting a lot of attention. The family live in Algonquin, which is northwest of Chicago. My mom and I flew into Chicago O'Hare late Saturday night, June 30. We almost missed our flight because my parents were running late driving to Denver. But thankfully, we made it and United even bumped us up to first class! What luck.

On Sunday, July 1, the whole family went to Christ United Methodist Church to witness T.J.'s baptism and take lots of photos. Later in the afternoon, we celebrated Filipino-style with barbecue, sopas, kare-kare, spaghetti and of course, rice. The day was beautiful but slightly windy (living up to that Chicago nickname).

On Monday, July 2, while my mom and Auntie Perla were at a meeting at Chicago Temple, my cousin Elaine and I explored the Navy Pier. It is an awesome place! There are lots of shops, restaurants, boat tours, shows and ... tourists. We walked around the pier, took photos and viewed stained glass art at the Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows. I have to say, you can't spend a day in Chicago, you really need a week to see it in all its glory.

Later in the afternoon, we met up with my mom and aunt and explored Millennium Park. A lot of interesting art in that area, including the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, the Crown Fountain and the Cloud Gate sculpture (or what we called "The Bean").

My mom and I flew back to Denver late July 3 (sadly, no first class this time) and I spent the Fourth of July at my parents' place in Colorado Springs. It was a nice mini-vacation to start off my summer and I truly hope to visit my godson T.J. and my relatives again and soon. Here are some of the photos my cousin and I took. Enjoy.
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Submitted By: William Boucher

posted on 7/24/2007 @ 9:30:16 PM

Rated Blog Entry

Nice title! Congrats, ninang. If it's true girls will look like their mothers in 20 years, you are set! Va-va-va-voom!

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Submitted By: Laura Mayo

posted on 7/20/2007 @ 12:11:31 PM

Rated Blog Entry

It's always nice to visit the fam!

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